Neuroscience of vision and aerial robotics

Research from Srinivasan’s laboratory has transformed our understanding of the elegant ‘short cuts’ that are used by animals with small brains and relatively simple nervous systems to see and perceive their world, and to navigate in it. Their studies have revealed how flying insects negotiate narrow gaps, regulate the height and speed of flight, estimate distance flown, and orchestrate smooth landings. Apart from enhancing fundamental knowledge, these findings are leading to novel, biologically inspired approaches to the design of guidance systems for unmanned aerial vehicles with applications in the areas of surveillance, security and planetary exploration.

Currently the group is working on four projects in the area of mid-air collision avoidance:

Collision avoidance in ‘bee clouds’. The flights of a number honeybees moving in a high-density air space are being video-filmed and analysed to understand the strategies that insects use to predict and avert imminent collisions.

Collision avoidance in bird flight. High-speed video footage of budgerigars flying past each other in a special purpose bird flight tunnel, or avoiding other stationary or moving obstacles, is being analysed to understand the strategies that birds use to predict and avert imminent collisions.

Collision avoidance in virtual reality. Collsion avoidance is being investigated in Queensland fruitflies, tethered in a virtual-reality area to simulate flight through a dense forest.

Biologically-inspired mid-air collision avoidance strategies for aircraft.The biological strategies uncovered in projects (i), (ii) and (iii), are being used in combination with mathematical algorithms to design novel aircraft guidance strategies for sensing and avoiding imminent collisions. These strategies are being implemented and tested in multi-rotor aircraft equipped with biologically-inspired vision systems.